Right and Wrong
by Genius-626
Summary: AU. Neo and Trinity were never freed, therefore still Thomas and Raven, just two computer geeks in love. They're always being watched by both the machines and the resistance, and the time for taking action is rapidly approaching as Neo begins to realize his powers.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I am aware that this concept and a few aspects of this fic may be similar to others, so I'd like to inform you all that any coincidence in the plot is merely _just_ _a coincidence_. I wish to steal nothing from fellow non-owners of the Matrix Trilogy. **

**Specifically, I know the name "Raven" has probably been used for Trinity's Matrix name before, and I find it too perfect to argue with, so I'm sorry if that's unoriginal. Please enjoy.**

Right and Wrong

Chapter 1

He paid the driver and stepped out of the taxi, walking up to his apartment building with full intentions of entering. He stopped half way, his eyes catching a glimpse of glowing green. Once his eyes focused, there was no glow to be seen, just a busy street with the regular crowd bustling through, all grays and whatnot.

Must have imagined it.

He was about to turn towards the building again when he was attacked from behind. It took all of his strength to twist away from this strangers strong grip, but just as soon as he'd escaped, there were two more men on either side of him. His eyes were wide and frantic as he was helpless to prevent these men in suits and sunglasses from shoving him into a car—

Thomas Anderson woke up with a slight start, headphones still covering his ears, heavy metal still pounding into his eardrums. He felt slim yet firm hands on his shoulders from behind and knew exactly who it was, having given only one person on the planet extra keys to his apartment. It took him a moment to realize that he'd fallen asleep at his desk again, but was relieved once he realized he'd just woken up from a dream. Grogily lifting his head up, he saw the calandar hanging on the wall behind the computer adn remembered that this was only day two of his week off work.

Those same hands lifted the headphones from his ears, gently placing them on the desk and turning off the stereo. For a minute, his hearing was a bit weak, her voice muffled when she spoke.

"And this is how you spend your nights off work? With your computer instead of with me?"

He turned around to see his girlfriend, Raven, thinking that she was being a hypocrite. Her pale blue eyes were the first things to catch his attention, then the slick ebony hair she pulls back to keep out of her eyes, then her pale white skin that never sees the light of day. She was the picture of beauty to him, but not just because of her looks.

He put his hands in the air, successfully suppressing a yawn. "You caught me red handed. Yes, I'm cheating on you—" he then swiveled around so that his back was to her. "But you're cheating too. I've seen him in your house. _In your room."_

She grabbed the back of his chair and abruptly turned him around.

"On your_ desk!" _Thomas continued teasingly.

She kissing him, partly to shut him up, and partly just because she'd wanted to in the first place. He instantly became fully awake, the touch of her lips sending waves of fire through his body. She was the only person he knew that could make him simply _feel_. He oftentimes felt numb to the world. Even hacking wasn't enough to make life bearable. She almost made him feel powerful, like nothing was impossible; like he could do anything, just with her by his side. In turn, he made her feel like a woman, much more than just an anti-social computer expert also lost to the world. If they hadn't met in college, neither knew what would have become of them.

Many didn't understand their unique connection or the purity of their love based on stereotypes about "computer geeks" and even hackers, which is why they simply chose not to hang around too many people.

"I brought you lunch." She said after pulling away from him, coaxing him out of his desk chair. He got to his feet and watched her for a moment as she strode to the kitchen, the ever efficient computer engineer in no mood to waste time, as always. Her figure was something he would never grow tired of, he mused, eyeing her long legs which were, to his surprise, uncovered. She usually wore pants or long skirts, not too proud of showing off in public—not thinking she had anything to show off, she'd admitted to him before. He'd told her, and showed her, many times before how ridiculous he thought her opinion on the matter was.

She turned before entering the kitchen, knowing that he wasn't following her. She saw the appreciative look on his face and glanced down at herself, having almost forgotten that she was wearing a miniskirt. She looked up and smirked at him. "Like what you see?"

"Always." He replied, only now walking towards her.

She looked him over as he came closer, noting that he'd been wearing the same outfit two days ago when she came over last. She shook her head, loving how much they had in common.

"Chinese again?" Thomas joked, sitting on the counter and picking up a box of mixed vegetables.

"What? It's your favorite." She replied, sitting next to him.

He smiled and handed her a box of something and a pair of chop sticks. They ate in a content silence for a moment.

"So, how's your search?" Raven asked.

He knew exactly what she meant. "I'm not getting anywhere with finding Morpheus. You?"

"Thought I had a lead yesterday, turned out to be a dead end. Had some fun with the bank though."

"Small stuff for 'The Trinity.'" Thomas teased, nudging her with his elbow.

"Hey, you know why I stopped doing things that big. Too dangerous. And I'm glad I got to do it at least once." She paused, eating, then nudged him. "You try cracking something as important as the IRS D-base."

"No thank you." He replied, half laughing as an answer.

They were quiet again, though the silence was content. Something they both enjoyed about being in each others company was that they could simply be sitting together and be fine, be more then fine, actually. They were two halfs of a whole and relied on each other for peace. It was a good life if they focused on that, but the world was too wrong to ignore such things.

"Rae?" Thomas said, using the nick name only he used. She reached over and stole a chop stick full of vegetables from his box and was still chewing. She met his eyes, silently telling him to continue.

"You know…" he began. "Since we're usually together, and we could both probably use a new place…" he trailed off, becoming nervous for no real reason. He glanced at Rae, who was looking at him seriously now. She knew exactly what he meant. Both of their apartments were basically too small, and they more often than not stayed at each other's apartments overnight, so what he was proposing was both somehow resourceful and romantic at the same time.

"Are you asking me to move in with you?" She asked, hiding her actual excitement from him, wanting to torture him a little, loving how adorable he looked when he was flustered. They'd been together nearly six years and he still got like this.

"Yeah, yeah, I am. Well, once we find a new place, that is—"

He stopped talking when she slid down to the floor form the counter. To his surprise, she stood in front of him in between his legs and pulled his face down to hers, capturing his lips in a heated kiss. When she reluctantly pulled away after some time, she was looking up at him with love in her eyes. "I would love to."

His smile was wide and infectious, making her smile back.

"I'm surprised you didn't just ask me to marry you." She said as she began to step back. Thomas managed to suppress a surprised look, stopping her from going anywhere by extending one of his legs as a road block. She got the message and glanced back at him.

"You've said, many a time, and I quote, that 'marriage is pointless.'" He said, his voice a bit more stern then he initially intended.

Raven tilted her head slightly in question. "I believe you've misquoted me there. I've said _many a time_ that '_weddings_ are pointless' and that people underestimate marriage in general with the amount of divorces there are these days."

Thomas was silent for a moment, sliding off the counter, then leaning on it, staring into space as Raven stepped closer to him. He looked at her, deep thoughts plaguing him, faded dreams coming back in full color in his mind.

After a moment of wordless staring, he suddenly decided to act aloof, as if he hadn't just been questioning his lover about marriage. He pushed himself from the counter and sauntered out of the kitchen into the small living room space, slumping on the low couch.

Just as he wanted, Raven followed him in, still standing when she spoke.

"And?" She said, looking at him expectantly; inquiringly, wondering what on earth was going through his mind.

He shrugged. "Nothing, nothing. I know you wouldn't be interested."

"In?"

"Marrying me." He said simply.

Her eyes narrowed at him, her heart beat growing faster as the idea made its way to her very core. "Oh really? What makes you think that?"

He could see right through her, and a part of him melted seeing how his words were affecting her. He couldn't keep up the act like that, it was driving him mad just being this far away from her. He got up and swept her into his arms, kissing her fervently. She was quick to react, and relayed the same passion he was; a testament of how equal they felt, how free they were together.

He tore his lips away from hers and they were both short of breath. Once he regained some semblance of thought, the words came easily. "Will you marry me?"

"Yes, only you." She said without hesitation, the second half of her answer under her breath, but loud enough for Thomas to hear. She was surprised to find herself still standing, though she was clinging to Thomas with a fairly strong grip. He kissed her again, lowering them onto the couch.

When they eventually broke apart, Raven was lying on her back and Thomas was hovering over her. Raven pressed her lips to his neck and bent her knees, coaxing him to relax onto her. He moaned audibly, his mind only momentarily letting go of what had just happened. He had asked her to marry him and she'd said yes. There was so much to think, so much to say.

"You really mean it." He heard himself say, more of a statement then a question. "You really want to marry me."

Raven looked up at him, a cooled kind of lust in her eyes. She reached a hand to the side of his face and repeated what she'd said to him earlier. "Only you." And the kissing commenced, among other things.

That night, Thomas found himself lying awake in bed, Raven sound asleep beside him. He gazed at her for a long time, running his hands through her short hair, then on her face, remembering everything about her. He wasn't really one to cherish memories, but memories of her were different. Everything else felt so fake. Dreams felt more real than real life, but Raven made him forget every discomfort he'd ever felt.

As he drifted off to sleep, half dreams plagued him, green lines replacing images in his mind, reality fading away with unconsciousness.

**End of Chapter 1. Stay tuned. (Cryptic endings rock!)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews those of you brave enough to click that blue button at the bottom of the story. Let the mystery commence :)**

Right and Wrong

Chapter 2

Thomas stood on the small balcony of Raven's apartment late at night, trying to rid his mind of the images keeping him awake. He thought fresh air might help, but it was to no avail. The images weren't very disturbing—except for the dreams he'd had about men in suits and sunglasses dragging him places, but those were very rare. Most of his dreams consisted of green strings of code making up everything around him. Just that night, he dreamt of lying in bed, gazing at Raven, but seeing her and everything around them in green. He didn't think they were serious, so he hasn't said anything about them. They probably just resulted from spending too much time online.

A man crossing the street three stories below caught his eye. He looked eerily like the men that would attack him in his dreams, but that had to be a coincidence. Men like them were everywhere; the city was full of business men. But this man…even at a distance he seemed mechanical, almost too precise in his movements to look human. When the man turned, he saw an earpiece and instinctively stepped out of sight back into the apartment. Somewhat surprised by his own actions, he shook his head and retreated back into to the living room.

Boxes were piled around the couch, both empty and full. They'd just started packing Raven's apartment for the move that day, having finished with his. Her apartment was much bigger, her pay checks the cause of that. It was also much brighter, but he knew Raven didn't care about interior decorating, let alone painting the walls a different color then white when nothing was technically wrong with them. She was much better than at keeping her apartment clean and clutter free, though her office was absolutely no exception. Her office almost looked like an extension of his entire apartment.

He glanced in the direction of the bed room and decided against going back at the moment, he'd only be lying awake. He walked into her office and sat at the desk chair, noting that it was too old and that they shouldn't bother packing it. He wondered if they should have different offices or just share a room with different computers. Searching for information was sometimes more fruitful with two heads instead of one, not to mention a little more fun.

Her office walls were covered in old calendars and notes, even old notes he'd written, even the most mundane and unimportant were stuck somewhere for posterity. He leaned closer to make out some of the writing:

"There's leftover pizza in the fridge, I thought you'd be hungry after that ten hour meeting. Probably see you tomorrow–Thomas"

"Forgot some papers at work, be back by 5 maybe –Raven."

"Where is my silver flash drive? I know you have it! –Thomas"

"I know I told you this before the business trip, but remember to back up those new downloads. I love you –Raven"

His eyes wandered to a picture frame that sat just next to the computer monitor. It was of him standing in a semi deserted area of a football stadium, having gone to a Rage Against the Machine concert. It was the only picture she had of anyone in the entire house. She'd lost contact with her family years ago and never dwelled on it, saying it was better this way. Thomas viewed it almost the same way with most of his family, though he'd been separated from his parents forcefully by way of nature, not his consent, he having been orphaned at 17. When he thought about it, it wasn't until he met Raven when he could fully let his misery and confusion about his parents leave him.

They'd met in college. It was a miracle he'd even been accepted, let alone given a full ride. Just before graduating high school, he'd been given a scholarship by an anonymous donator wishing to give the money to a student going into technology. It was an opportunity he couldn't pass up, thought he didn't much care to further his education. If it was handed to him on a silver platter when everything else ever given to him in his life was on a neon green plastic plate, he had enough common sense to know what choice to make.

He'd heard of her as a freshman, but hadn't physically met her until junior year. She was almost a phantom then, a ghost woman with an incredible school record and reputation among professors and students alike, but she was too real to be a ghost. Whenever he saw her, his heart fluttered, if only for a moment before he pushed away the half thought-out notion of even being able to talk to her let alone satisfy a few less than clean fantasies of his. At the same time, it was much more than that. He wanted to see her mind at work, he wanted to challenge her in some mental way, mathematically or psychologically, to see her abilities and limits up close and in person. There was something just so breathtaking about simply being in the same room as someone just as…he couldn't for the life of him describe someone like her. Was this him falling in love? He denied it many times, knowing and for the most part accepting that a woman like Raven would never be interested in a man like him.

That changed rather quickly after actually meeting her.

He'd been noticing some odd occurrences with his computer at home, nothing serious, just little things. At first he thought he must have been making some small errors here and there, but as some time went by, he noticed that they were only things someone as knowledgeable about computers as he would actually pick up. Just as he began to be suspicious, he received anonymous messages through some phantom program he knew nothing about:

"_Hello Neo"_ was the first, which wasn't terribly abnormal, until something else was typed in. _"Or are you Thomas right now?"_

Other messages started popping up, taking him to nearly extreme levels of precaution.

"_Don't forget to send your research paper tonight"_

"_Remember to bring a pencil tomorrow, there's a written test in computer science"_

Then it started happening during school, in the computer lab. To say he was paranoid after that would be an understatement.

Really, the only threatening part about the messages was the fact that whoever it was, they knew who he was, as Thomas and Neo. Their intent was not clear, the messages taunting if anything. Some were even useful.

"_Your fly's down, just so you know."_

He decided not to reply until he had a lead on who this person messaging him was. It was more than likely that it was a fellow student, less likely that it was a professor, but still possible. Sometimes, he felt like he was being flirted with, which ruled out straight males.

"_You know, you should smile more often. Your speech today would have been much more compelling if you had done so."_

Ok, maybe not the most flirtatious person on the planet, but it did still rule out some people. But he finally had to ask.

"_Who are you_?"

It was only a few minutes before they replied.

"_They call me Trinity_."

Trinity. _Trinity. The Trinity. _You've gotta be fucking kidding me, he thought. Am I being punked? Is this some kind of joke? This can't possibly be real, _The Trinity _would _not _reveal themselves to me, let alone stalk me.

In his frenzied processing of the information in front of him, he looked around, not even caring if he looked frantic. The only person in his class with the kind of brain power to pull off the things that _The Trinity _could was…Raven. But no, not _her. _Why would she be paying so much attention to him? Why was his double life so important to her? Did she lead a similar double life? Could they possibly have that much in common?

The questions quickly consumed him along with his quieted adoration of her. He chose to test his theory one day. He showed up early to computer science class, and just as he'd hoped, she was the first one there, already seated at a computer station. He sat next to her, trying to act casual, unaware of how fruitless the attempt was. She seemed too focused on her work to care about him, so he pretended to ignore her as well. After class was over, she left like lightning, and he had proven his point, having not received one message within that hour. When he logged off, he noticed she'd forgotten to herself and leaned over to view her screen. He clicked on a document to save and close it, but there it was, the message he figured she'd wanted him to see.

"_So you've found me out. Meet me in front of the school_."

He was somewhat astonished by the pace of her mind, and how they somehow thought alike. He could have just been sitting by her for the heck of it, but no, she knew he'd been suspicious of her, observant as ever.

So to the main entrance of the school he went. As his eyes narrowed in on her, his mind went incredibly blank, completely oblivious as to what to say to her. In a regular situation, he'd be in the same boat, but this was intensified by the potential that Raven could turn out to be a wanted felon of the cyber world. Extremely cool. Extremely dangerous.

Before she even turned to look at him, his words flowed before he could process his own voice.

"What is this about? No one knows my name. Well, _that _name, I'm too careful. Is this blackmail?"

She looked at him sideways before fully turning towards him. Her face was neutral, looking neither happy to see her nor surprised at his outburst, though she answered him with less calm then she seemed to possess whenever he saw her, she almost looked nervous, a nearly nonexistent shake in her voice when she spoke.

"I thought it was time we talked, since we have so much in common."

"But-" he stammered, knowing he looked like an idiot, almost staying that way because of the ghost of a smile that graced her flawless face. "How do you know about me?"

She held his eyes in a secretive gaze which silently told him that she was not yet ready to reveal that information. He almost expected her to say it was "classified." He decided to ask an easier question.

"Are you really who you say you are?"

"Yes." She said, looking pleased at the way he'd worded it.

"Then why tell me?"

"Because I know I can trust you."

At that, he didn't want to ask any more questions. His curiosity had peaked, but his heart was unassuming, ready to be trusted by a creature such as Raven. She had wanted to talk to him—they were talking right now! How many years had he spent dreaming about her, wondering who she really was and if such a woman could love him?

Love, that was thinking _way _ahead. He shook himself to get his head back to the present, realizing that they'd been staring at each other for God knows how long.

It wasn't long before they sat next to each other every day of class or exchanged numbers and e-mails, they even hung out together days they had off work and school. Soon they were spending every waking moment together, finding so much of themselves in the other, finding belonging and meaning in life. The moment they officially became more than friends is one Thomas could never forget.

"Do you believe in fate?" Raven asked. They were at her apartment, his first time there. They'd walked to a café after school when it started pouring, thunder sounding and lightning flashing. Her apartment was close and she didn't want him walking alone in the rain. He'd said he could easily get a cab, but she insisted he not waste his money.

He got the hint.

They'd been quiet, which was surprisingly not awkward.

"Is this a typical conversation starter for you?" Thomas answered, a smirk on his face.

She gave a small smile. "You're smiling more, like I told you to."

"Am I? I haven't noticed." _It's because of you. I can't really describe it, but I'm the happiest I've ever when I'm with you._

"You didn't answer my question."

"And you didn't answer mine."

"I was first. But no, I just wanted to know."

"Do you, believe in fate?"

She tilted her head a bit, shifting her weight so that her chin was resting in her hand, her elbow on the table.

"I love watching you think." He said, not caring that he'd spoken his mind.

She glanced at him with a mischievous grin. She was grinning now. What had come over her? What had come over both of them?

"I've never really thought about fate before…until you."

Thomas was surprised by how serene her words were, how inexplicably rare they were…and how right they sounded. He felt exactly the same way, but hadn't been able to put words to it until now.

But hearing her say it…his heart was pumping so loud he was she could hear it too.

Though he was speechless, his hand managed to find hers. She squeezed it, then brought it to her lips and gently kissed it. The intimacy made his cheeks burn red and his heart stop, but only for a moment before she spoke again, her breath hot on his hand.

"I've been searching so long…I thought I was looking for the answer to how wrong the world is, or to what the Matrix really is. I know there are still secrets out there, and I know still have things to fight for, but…" their eyes met for the first time since they'd locked hands. "when I'm with you...nothing can bother me. You make me so…"

"Happy." He finished. He laughed at himself. "It's a pretty simple thing, happiness—"

"But it's something I've never had. Not really." She interrupted, taking his hand in both of hers now. "I can tell you've lived without it for a long time, too."

He nodded, now completely speechless, though three distinctive words pounded in his head. Though she was basically confessing to him, he was afraid to take it any further himself. He was basically frozen to his spot on the couch, subconsciously reaching his free hand to her face.

"I love you." She whispered, their faces inching closer. "I love you."

They kissed, not giving him the chance to voice his reciprocal feelings. Just then, the power went out.

Back to the present, Thomas heard Raven walk barefoot down the hallway. He swiveled around to see her look around the living room before turning to her office, seeing him there. She walked in, wearing an oversized long sleeved shirt and shorts, rubbing her eyes before sitting in his lap. He wrapped his arms around her middle and kissed her shoulder a few times. She leaned her forehead on his, inhaling deeply, still partly asleep.

"Can't sleep?" She asked groggily. She leaned back, focusing on his eyes. "Do you want to talk about it?"

He shook his head, knowing that she'd ask him eventually, he can't hide anything from her, though he'll keep trying.

"There's nothing to tell."

She gave him a look that made him love how much she cared about him.

"They're just dreams." He elaborated. "I don't want you to worry."

"That doesn't change anything." She said, sounding more awake then she did just a moment ago. After a few silent moments of absent mindedly caressing his face, she kissed him tenderly.

She sighed when she pulled away. "What were you doing in here anyway?"

"Just…remembering."

She looked over his shoulder to the framed picture on her desk. She huffed a laughed. "Our college days?"

He hummed in the affirmative.

She looked back to him. "Come back to bed."

He hesitated, his mind wired, but his body tired. Her mere presence used to calm his senses, but now the anxiety was creeping back, the feeling of being watched and being lied to. Secrets plagued him along with his dreams that felt more real than when he was awake.

"Please." She said, bringing him back from his thoughts.

He gave a small smile. "What? Can you not sleep without me?"

"I'll never admit it." She said teasingly.

He gave in, letting her love wash over him, distracting him from the current of conflicting thoughts in his mind.

…

A well-dressed man in sunglasses walked down a corridor and sharply turned to face an office entrance.

"Sir."

Another man in sunglasses looked up from his desk, a frown permanently plastered on his face.

"Yes?"

"He's beginning to see things. He's becoming more out of control by the second."

"Even with his fiancé?"

"The distraction is failing. The rebels are gaining ground."

The man at the desk nodded, understanding their dilemma, knowing it had to happen eventually.

"Initiate Plan B."

**Time to throw in the Agents! But don't forget the Resistance, they're just as important :) Thanks for reading and stay tuned**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry if this chapter is a bit slow, I'm still working out the kinks in the plot. Also, this is more of a Neb chapter, just to warn you. This is my first time writing about the characters who didn't make it out of the first movie, so I'm kind of excited about that. Thanks for reading and enjoy.**

Right and Wrong

Chapter 3

The Neb was silent, save Apoc's heavy footsteps. He'd stopped trying to quiet himself years ago, the effort a ridiculous notion of unneeded worry. He bypassed the light switches that would turn on the dim lights leading to the Core, his eyes now fully adjusted to the darkness that accompanied the Neb during the night hours.

Once he reached the feed, Mouse swiveled enough in his chair to see Apoc. He gave a wide smile, a predictable move, it his usual welcome when he was too tired to speak, thankfully. None of them knew how he did it, how he could possibly remain so blissfully cheery. It was annoying at times, but even Apoc had to admit, without the guy around, they'd all most likely forget how to laugh.

"What if this is some kind of set up?" Mouse said suddenly, still sitting in the chair, knowing full well that he could leave now that Apoc was here.

Apoc could only make out part of the youngest crew member's mischievous face from where he stood. His eyes seemed to be gleaming out of wonder from his new theory, but Apoc knew from years of experience, the night shift was a tiring job on the eyes.

"What?" He simply replied, actually giving him permission to continue with this one.

Mouse perked up slightly and sat up straighter. "You know, what if the Agents are messing with us, making us believe that these two are as important as we think they are, especially Neo, when in reality, they're just regular red pills. What if this is a distraction and they're hiding the real guy-"

"I thought it was crazy enough that you were right about the agents protecting these two, but now you're just bagging on your own theory. The one that was actually _true._"

"I know, I know, but here me out! If they're so important, why haven't they just killed them already? The only reason they'd do that is if they needed Neo and Trinity for something…but how could they possibly be useful to an Agent? There's just something about that that rubs me the wrong way."

"Yeah it rubs you the wrong way, it's a crazy ass job. So what the Agents haven't killed them yet, they're machines, there's gotta be a more than logical reason for it. They never expected us to be on them for so long anyway."

"So they're using them as bait!" Mouse exclaimed.

Apoc glared uneasily into Mouse's frenzied eyes. "Possibly." He continued gruffly. "But theories aren't going to get us anywhere. Jacking in and getting those two out might not even give us answers. And if we don't get them out this time, we've been ordered to let them go. The Agents are on those two like…" He paused, his first thought 'like a cat on a mouse,' but that seemed way too cliché, considering who he was talking to.

"Like nothing I've ever seen before." Mouse finished.

Apoc nodded. "Like nothing no one's ever seen before. The Agents had an iron grip on Trinity when Morpheus tried to get her out the first time. Everyone including the Council thinks Morpheus is crazy still in pursuit of her after all these years of watching. We might have gotten her a few years ago if the Agents hadn't paired her up with Neo—"

"But if it wasn't for that, we'd of never found Neo, and he's—"

"I know what Morpheus thinks Neo is, but together they…cancel each other out. Alone, they were dead set on finding answers."

"They still search."

"Yeah, but not as much. Like any illusion, they just distract each other. And now there's this marriage shit they're trying to pull off."

Mouse was quiet for a second. "I know they still want answers. Neo's an insomniac, stays up all night trying to make sense of everything. Those Agents have bugged him more than once."

"Cause his mind's getting stronger." Apoc admitted. "I've never seen stats like his. When people get older, they fade into the Matrix, even potentials. But Neo… we need to get him out fast."

"He won't come with us without Trinity."

"Yeah." Apoc was quiet then. "The Agents had a pretty good plan there."

Mouse sat in contemplation for a moment. When he looked back up at Apoc, he noticed the expectancy in the other man's eyes. He then remembered to get out of the chair, his shift having been over for a good few minutes. Once Apoc was seated, he looked over to Mouse, knowing that he had more to say. Seeing that he was the only soul awake to listen, he gave in without much of a fight.

"Yes?" he said.

In a rare moment of question, Mouse grew serious. "Is Morpheus really going in tomorrow?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Cypher and I are on guard duty."

Mouse shook his head. "Shit. Agents are gonna be crawling all over the place."

"Yeah." Apoc replied, his careless tone of voice meant to catch Mouse by surprise. It did. He laughed at the younger crew member's bewilderment and continued. "We've got some back up."

Mouse's eyes widened at that. "Who?"

"Morpheus made a deal with Roland."

The young man was simply shocked. His hand went to clutch his hair. "How'd he do that?"

"Roland isn't one for failure. He wants a chance at getting Trinity out if anything. He could care less about Neo."

"The _Hammer _tried to free Trinity too?"

"After Morpheus failed the first time, no one could even get close. The Agents were too close and she was too...invested."

After Mouse was rendered too stunned to say anything, he slowly retreated to his room, promptly muttering to himself once he thought he was out of earshot. Apoc rolled his eyes. He hardly talked this much. Frankly, there wasn't ever this much to talk about. He knew how Mouse worked; he theorized about the endless possibilities of the Matrix and created erotic construct programs to distract himself from the horrors that lay ahead. They all felt death, this war bad enough to inflict fear, and now this mission was rearing its ugly head. But Apoc knew out of years of experience, fear is a drive and death is inevitable. If he has to go one day, he'll go fighting.

…

Morpheus was in no state of mind to sleep. Meditation was his only weapon against his nerves, tomorrow most likely the only chance the Fleet will ever have again at freeing Neo and Trinity. The risk of going against the Agents was becoming extremely dangerous to both his crew and their targets, not to mention that they were both already much too old to be targeted in the first place.

He let his mind wander to his first and only correspondence with Trinity, one he believed she still remembered. She had to remember.

"_Very good, Trinity."_

_She was at her computer, reeling from her successful hack into the IRS database when the message came up. Her screen blacking out initially caught her attention, but the message was what unnerved her. Who was this hacking into her computer? How had her secret leaked? She was only a senior in high school and her identity had already been breached? Her future looked bleak for a moment before another message was typed up._

"_I've been watching you. You're more than ready to know the truth."_

_She simply stared at the monitor, eyes bulging, brain firing, hands hovering over her keyboard, deeply contemplating on what to write back. _

"_Morpheus? I've been looking for you." She finally typed in. _

"_No, you've been looking of an answer." Then a second later, "You know the question."_

_She hesitated, blown away by this moment. Her hands moved without thought. _

"_What is the Matrix?"_

She reminded him so much of himself. The passion, the diligence, the more than subconscious drive to find meaning and truth in a caged world of secrets. She had been determined in her searches and very much invested into following him into hell if she had to, which was what many pod-borns interpreted the real world to be at first sight. But not Trinity, or so he hoped. He would envision her awaking on the Neb after rehabilitation, maybe initially shocked at what was before her, but much more interested and inquisitive about what there was to discover about reality and all of its truths.

But the turn of events that followed just the next day not only drove Trinity further away from her searching and hacking in general, but earned him the divided faith that Fleet Captains now had in him. Some admire him for his actions, having managed to get all of his crew members back on the Neb alive after meeting the swarm of Agents that met them with Trinity. Others think his decisions rash and unorthodox having lost Trinity to the Agents so easily.

Half of the Council fought him in his seemingly blind devotion to free Trinity, and now Neo. No one knew why they were so important to the Agents; they'd never been this protective over any one red pill before, which was the reasoning of the supporting Council members' concern for the potentials. Any attack to the machines is a good cause, and if these potentials were being protected, by all means, get them out of the Matrix if only to weaken the machines in some way.

The argument still held relevance. An unknown cause could very well be a trap. Morpheus was one of their best Captains regarding how many potentials he'd unplugged, so if anyone could make this rescue possible, it was him. But the mission was becoming too time consuming and too dangerous.

They had one more chance.

He would not fail this time.

…

About an hour in, Apoc heard footsteps. He knew it was Switch before she came into sight. She usually came and found him if she couldn't sleep, wherever he was, at the feed or in his room. She wasn't an insomniac, but she didn't much like to be alone, especially when she'd just end up biding her time lying in bed, sleepless and bored. She didn't look it, but she liked company, especially his. They didn't talk much, but they didn't really need to, human contact all any soldier ever needed. Humanity was simple that way. They fought to preserve that simplicity.

Switch reached the feed and stood by Apoc's side, crossing her arms as he turned his eyes to see her. "I've never heard you talk so much before." She said, her tone sounding slightly amused though her eyes were as sharp as ever, even with lack of sleep.

He shook his head. "Sure you have."

"Not to the runt."

Apoc was silent then, his eyes gazing back to the feed for a moment. "He needs someone to humor him every once in a while." Then, "How could you hear us?"

"I was in the mess. I knew it was close to your shift, so I didn't bother waking you up five minutes early."

"How considerate of you." His tone was flat.

She punched his arm lightly before stepping back and leaning on the back of his chair. "So, anything interesting happen with the coppertop couple?"

He shook his head. "Nothing really. Trinity just got back from work."

They were like that for a while, watching the feed like some kind of weird reality TV show with no sound. Eventually, Switch's hand rested on Apoc's shoulder from behind, his hand promptly meeting hers, a wordless conversation now passing between them. She hadn't said anything when Morpheus made the decision to bring only Apoc and Cypher on tomorrows mission, which usually meant she didn't care, but she hadn't even met his eye, which meant otherwise. As her fingers tightened around his, he knew how she felt and wanted nothing but to succeed tomorrow, if only to stay alive one more day.

Something suddenly caught his eye on screens. "Oh Shit."

"What is it?" Switch said, concern immediately thick in her voice.

"Go get Morpheus, I'll get Tank. This is serious." He practically jumped out of his chair. "If we don't get to them soon, there won't be anyone to unplug."

**Thanks for reading again :) Next chapter will hopefully be action packed and a little sappy for those of you Neo/Trinity fans**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry if this chapter is a bit short, it's just how my outlines are turning out. I love your feedback. Enjoy.**

Chapter 4

Thomas didn't hear the front door open. He'd been waiting for the past hour for Raven to come home from work and had somehow ended up in her office again. But even with the computer screen bright in his face, the familiarity usually something that comforted him, the worry had already fully unsettled him. She was never late, even when it came to him. Something wasn't right.

He finally heard something in the bedroom and his heart skipped a beat. Had she just gotten home? Or had she snuck in a while ago? That was unlikely; she always made it very clear that she was home, usually by calling his name. He practically jumped out of his seat, bare feet inaudible on the carpeted floor. When he made it to the bedroom, he was taken completely by surprise. Raven was sitting on the bed, head in her hands looking just miserable.

"Rae." He said in the softest voice possible, though to no avail. Her head snapped up in surprise, tears of frustration still in her eyes. He was welded to the spot with her sorrowful stare, though he knew that not to be her intention.

"I wasn't sure you were home." She said, her voice raspy, but not yet broken.

He remained standing there for a moment before saying anything, watching her attempt to dry her eyes. He came across a few things to say, ultimately deciding that a less serious approach to this might be a better way to start a conversation. "Work that bad today?"

"No…" She trailed off, which only heightened his concern. He sat next to her, ready for anything. To talk, to listen, to calm her.

"Talk to me." He said. Though they'd been through so much together, he was, at this point, unsure whether or not to touch her, so he waited patiently for her to look back up at him.

When she did look at him, she did so with eyes that held pain within them, wanting nothing but to be able to feel secure in his arms, but she feared that nothing could ease her from this discomfort; this gut feeling that told her that everything in the world was wrong. Everything but him.

"We've tried to escape it, haven't we? We mask our true intentions to just…try and get away from it…"

Thomas stared at her with searching eyes, utterly confused as to what she was talking about and honestly quite afraid. Raven was the strong one, and though she's always been cautious, she was the one who always brought him back from the darkness of his own uncertainties; it was hardly the other way around. Seeing her at her weakest was gut wrenching, like it was completely supernatural, never meant to happen.

"From what?" His voice was suddenly thin, nearly whispering, an old and illusive fear about living amongst cruel lies grasping him once again. He took both of her hands in his, clutching them in an attempt to comfort her, telling her without words that she could trust him with any thought in her head; that he was there for her with every fiber of his being. But she'd already turned away, though her hands were desperately attached to his. When she continued, he knew why she couldn't meet his eyes. Her words stung him like a bad memory; like a bad wake up call, and she'd known that they would.

"We can't escape, not really. Even if we move far away from here, as far as we've been planning, nothing will change. I'll still feel like I'm being watched. I'll still feel the lies they're telling us. Even if we get married, my happiness can't drown out the frustration I've had my entire life."

Although she didn't specify exactly what they could not escape, he understood. Neither knew the answers to their constant questions, one in particular, which was why they believed that searching for Morpheus was the only way out.

She tentatively set her gaze to his, losing herself in his eyes; in the way he reflected just how much he understood her. She fell into him, letting him bring her down onto the bed, letting him hold her with all of his strength. But even now, they weren't close enough. They both felt it, unable to ignore the separation that so confined them from feeling close at all. What was happening to them?

Thomas drew away from Raven for a stressed moment, looking into her eyes and heavily considering taking this intimacy a step further, wanting desperately to be as close as possible. But before he could make any move, another feeling rushed his senses, one completely foreign to him. Raven had always felt like they were being watched, and he had too to a degree, but this instinctual feeling was entirely different. He could actually…sense people—no, predators more like—coming from outside their room.

Raven caught the serious look in his eye as he eased all the way off the bed. She sat up and followed him with her eyes as he slowly and quietly made his way down the hallway. He peaked into the living room, waiting for only a few seconds before there was a loud knock on the door. It made them both jump. Thomas didn't hesitate to run back to her.

"Do you know who's at the door?" Raven asked him worriedly.

"No, but I think I…" _feel them._ He shook his head as if to rid himself of the chill the thought gave him and made his way to the window, contemplating on whether to take the fire escape or not. The knock returned once again before the door was promptly forced open. Thomas opened the window effortlessly with the adrenaline pumping through him and reached for Raven's hand, not saying a word as to avoid giving away their position. He made her climb through first, having seen the suit and sunglass wearing freaks from his nightmares walking down the hall. He shut the window and failed to ignore Raven's cries of protest from the other side. She pressed her right hand to the glass before he told her to save herself and locked the window shut, pulling over the curtains as well. When he turned, they were standing just feet away from him.

…

Morpheus, Apoc and Cypher sat in a car down and across the street from Neo and Trinity's apartment building. Morpheus had just dialed Tank, needing details on the Agents whereabouts. They had gotten there as quickly as they could, but they all feared, even Morpheus to a degree, that they were too late. Cypher had binoculars on the apartment window, having just spotted Trinity climbing out.

"Hey! Neo's stuck with the Agents and Trinity's on the fire escape!" He shouted.

"Roland will take care of her. Our sights are on Neo." Morpheus replied calmly.

Cypher nodded, though a bit warily, and looked back into the binoculars. Indeed, Roland's car was now pulled up and a few members of the _Hammer's_ crew got out to secure the area. He looked back up to Trinity, still in her work pants and jacket. It definitely wasn't her style, but he could not ignore for the life of him that she was gorgeous, maybe the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. Sure, they'd been tracking her for years, but he'd never seen anything but her code and credentials. Now that there was a face to the brain…

Apoc nudged Cypher with his elbow. "Focus." He hissed. Cypher put down the binoculars and put his hands in the air in feign surrender.

Back on the Neb, Tank shook his head and bit his lip. "This isn't good, Morpheus, this isn't good. There's no way Neo can get outta this by himself!"

Apoc and Cypher could faintly hear Tank's voice over Morpheus' phone. They looked at each other, both unable to hide the entirety of their concern.

"They've cornered him in his apartment." Tank added. "They're not doing anything, probably just talking, but I don't know how long Neo can stall."

"How many did they send?" Morpheus asked Tank.

"Three Agents. No police."

"So they're just going to kill him. No police, no handcuffs." Apoc said under his breath, Cypher catching the comment.

"None of us will make it if we go in there. And there's no way for him to run because he won't go down the fire escape to jeopardize any chance Trinity has." Tank said.

"We're too late?" Cypher said out loud, getting a look from Morpheus.

All their Captain said was, "It isn't over."

…

Raven had made it down the fire escape easily, though her heart was violently pounding in her chest, fear and shame taking her all at once. She wasn't running from fear of the mysterious men in her apartment, however. She was running because Thomas had sacrificed himself for her, the look in his eyes too serious to have ignored or defied, even with her pride as powerful as it was. She feared for his life. Thomas' actions had initailly infuriated her and she'd wanted nothing but to break down the window and crawl back into the apartment. Deserting him broke her heart, but they both sensed the high level of danger, something neither had ever encountered before.

Reaching the ground, she realized that she was not alone. Two men in sunglasses and formal attire were walking towards her, though they did not approach her as the men in her apartment had, nor did they look like them, but the fear had already settled in her bones. She was immediately defensive, knowing enough about self-defense to protect herself on a regular day, completely aware that this was definitely _not_ a regular day. One of them back up a little while the other simply stopped his advance. It seemed that they didn't want to use force. Just then, two names were shouted from an open car parked nearby, an older man with gray hair stepping out. The two men completely backed off from Trinity as the older man, apparently their leader, advanced.

"I'm Roland, an ally of Morpheus."

Raven immediately let her fists down in shock. _Morpheus? Did searching for Morpheus have something to do with this? Did Morpheus knew they'd been looking for him?_

"We know who you are, Trinity. We're here to help you and your friend Neo." Roland didn't give her time to think, time of the absolute essence. "First of all, get in the car if you want to live. You'll get the answers you're looking for once we're in the clear."

Roland motioned to his men and they led the stunned Raven to the car. Once she was seated between them, Roland also in the car, she spoke up with a broken voice. "How will you help Thomas? Who are the people after us?"

"Once we're in the clear," Roland said, not even looking back at her, telling the person in the driver's seat to drive, and fast, "You'll get your answers."


End file.
